


free food and plastic rings

by starryjoonie



Series: fake proposals [1]
Category: GOT7, JJ Project
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, College, Explicit Language, Fake Proposal, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Light Angst, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Restaurants, doyoung is jinyoung's ex, faking proposals for free food
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:35:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28120239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starryjoonie/pseuds/starryjoonie
Summary: After receiving a plastic ring at a friend's wedding, Jaebeom comes up with the clever idea of proposing to one of his friends at restaurants so they can get free desserts, being the broke college students they are.Jaebeom doesn't plan for the ring to come with emotions.in which jaebeom's fake proposals to jinyoung garner real feelings, featuring got5 as their college friends.
Relationships: Im Jaebum | JB/Park Jinyoung
Series: fake proposals [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2168940
Comments: 14
Kudos: 216





	free food and plastic rings

Jaebeom has never been one to come up with perfect, flawless ideas. There always happens to be a loophole or obstacle that comes with his brilliant thoughts, yet he never manages to say “Hey. Maybe that’s a _bad idea_.”

Like attending a long distance wedding the night before his 8AM Monday class. He wasn’t even that close with the girl and yet Jaebeom decided to go anyway, convinced he’d be able to handle the inevitable exhaustion that would come the next day.

_Then_ he decided to accept Jackson’s invite to go get dinner that night so he can’t even take what would be a glorious nap in his apartment. _And_ he decided to have a few drinks. He’s far from drunk, but his mind is a little clogged and the need for filters has been discarded. A recipe for disaster, really, but Jaebeom doesn’t care.

He’s sitting in a booth with his friends, warm from the alcohol and the food, listening to the chatter as he cringes at the amount on the check. There’s the reminder of why he avoids eating out. 

As with most college students, he and his friends are pretty broke. Jackson, however, is convinced that they still need to get out of the house and socialize, even though there are other ways to do so than buying food. Mark, Jaebeom’s roommate who is also in their friend group, does his best to persuade Jackson out of it when he can but most of the time his efforts are fruitless.

“How was the wedding?” Youngjae asks, jerking him out of his thoughts. “No offense but you look absolutely exhausted.”

“You’re not wrong. I’ve gotten three hours of sleep in the past two days.” He shrugs. “I got nice food and alcohol from the wedding, though, so that was nice, even though I was drilled on why I hadn’t brought a ‘plus one.’”

Mark raises an eyebrow as he finishes off the last of his food. “Shouldn’t they be glad? Less food to pay for, right?”

“Those friends from school were always too interested in gossip,” Jaebeom tells him bitterly.

“It’s fair to be curious,” Jinyoung pipes up. “You haven’t seen them in a couple years, right?”

He reflects on how long it’s been- he’s been in college for two years, so yeah, it’s been a while. But like he said, he hadn’t been that close with them. His closest friends in high school had, in fact, been Jinyoung and Jackson. They all managed to get into the same college together and the rest is history. 

“Right. But still, it was like they were my parents or something. It was annoying.” He takes one last sip of his drink before there’s nothing left in the glass. The feeling of a full stomach makes him even more tired than he had been just an hour ago.

Conversation turns to Yugyeom’s and Bambam’s dance club performance that they plan on attending, and then to questions about Jinyoung’s big final that he had been stressed out about. Jaebeom mostly zones out, popping back into the conversation to congratulate Jinyoung on his work. The tiredness is overwhelming, at the same time, he feels kind of hyper, too.

“We should get going before Jaebeom passes out on us,” Mark jokes as all six eyes turn to Jaebeom who is slumped in the booth. He shoves Jaebeom out of his seat. “C’mon, let’s go.”

This restaurant in particular is a short distance to Jaebeom’s apartment, thank god, because the temperature is harsh tonight. The biting wind wakes him up as the group of them step out onto the sidewalk to make the walk home together. 

He notices Jinyoung pulling his scarf higher up on his face to block the wind. His leftovers are in his hands, which are tinted pink from the cold. 

Worried that Jinyoung will get some kind of hypothermia, Jaebeom shoves his hands into his coat pockets in case he might have gloves to lend him. He meets nothing than an old receipt and something plastic. Confused, he takes the object out to examine it under the streetlight.

_Ah._ It’s the plastic ring he had received as some stupid party favor at the wedding. Why he had kept it, he doesn’t know. He has no use for the shiny piece of plastic in the shape of a ring, with a small “diamond” in the center. Jaebeom briefly considers what the hell he might do with it. There’s no way he’d use this for a proposal (not that he had anyone to propose to). He’d want a real ring for that.

A moment passes. Then, “I have an idea,” he announces to the others, who had been discussing the controversies of campus parking.

“Do tell,” Jackson says in amusement as he walks backwards so they can all talk and fit on the sidewalk at the same time. 

Jaebeom holds up the ring for everyone to see. “I got this fake ring at the wedding, so like… you know those stories you hear about people fake-proposing so they can get free food at restaurants?”

Yugyeom’s eyes widen instantly. “Hyung, you’re a genius!” he praises, having instantly caught on.

“Wait, you want to pretend to propose to someone just for the possibility of free dessert?” Jinyoung reiterates, giving him an “are you serious” look.

He huffs, placing the ring back in his pocket because his hands were getting cold. “I didn’t say it would be me, but yeah, that’s the idea.”

Jackson’s grin widens. “Oh, no, it definitely should be you. This was all your idea after all, Jaebeom. Plus I think you’d be great at proposing. You suit the look.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“You’ve got fluffy hair and swoon-worthy eyes,” Jackson sings, reaching out to squish Jaebeom’s cheek before Bambam swats his hand away.

“Jackson, shut up,” Bambam interrupts. “This is a very important discussion. This is _free food_ we’re talking about.”

“Right, right. So, who should Jaebeom’s lucky pretend fiance be?~”

Youngjae considers. “Well, we could evaluate it based on who would do the best job or we could just do rock paper scissors.”

They all acknowledge the power of rock paper scissors and immediately agree while Jaebeom watches in subdued anticipation as his fate is decided. He really doesn’t know why he’s nervous, because it’s not a real proposal by any means, but he better get used to looking at whoever it is in a very loving way.

Jackson’s the first to lose, followed by Bambam and Yugyeom. A few rounds later and Youngjae’s out. Mark and Jinyoung lazily do rock paper scissors as they walk for a few rounds, until Jinyoung puts forward paper and Mark rock, therefore making Jinyoung the winner. Or loser. It’s really up for interpretation.

“Actor Park!~” Jackson squeals as he shakes Jinyoung’s shoulder. Jinyoung has a reputation for being able to fool a lot of people when it comes to his facial expression. Except now, because he looks fairly unamused. 

“This is a stupid idea,” Jinyoung says pointedly. “We might not even get offered free food, besides, wouldn’t the staff catch on?”

“Not if you make it believable,” Mark says with a shrug.

Yugyeom nods, enthusiastic at this turn of events. “Yes, Jaebeom will have to prepare a very romantic speech and you have to use your acting skills to cry or something.”

Jaebeom hasn’t yet realized that he’ll essentially be proposing to his _best friend_ , but he’ll deal with that when he gets there.

“Also, why would someone propose when they’re out at a restaurant with a group of people?” Jinyoung counters. “Aren’t most proposals during dates? Which, if I’m not wrong, are usually just two people?”

“Do you _want_ to go on a romantic date with Jaebeom?” Jackson teases.

Jinyoung is instantly defensive, punching Jackson’s arm that is cushioned by his coat. “No, I’m just saying that in order for you all to profit off of this, you’ve got to make it believable.”

“Jinyoung has a point,” Youngjae echoes. “Maybe we could pretend to be family or something. We could start crying at the proposal, too.”

“God, no, I don’t trust all of your collective fake crying skills.” Jinyoung gives them all dirty looks as they start laughing. 

Jaebeom nods in agreement. “I think that Jinyoung and I should be the primary actors here. Anything else and our cover may be ruined and the chances of free food are gone.”

They sober at that thought, but Jackson quickly brightens. “Great, so Friday night we should all dress a little nicer and go somewhere around 6pm. Mission Free Food will begin.”

As they all cheer, in varying states of tiredness, Jaebeom falls back to walking in line with Jinyoung. He observes how pink his nose is, imagining he’s quite cold. He brings an arm around Jinyoung’s shoulder to hold him a little closer for warmth purposes. “Do you think they’d give us free nuggets if I proposed at a McDonald’s?” Jaebeom wonders, smiling.

Jinyoung laughs loudly at that thought, as his smile reaches his eyes. “I wonder.”

Perhaps they’ll have to make time in the proposing schedule for a McDonald’s somewhere along the line. Jaebeom is very curious.

Friday comes and Jaebeom is exhausted by the week of classes but he’s still somehow jittery as he adjusts the collar of his button-up shirt in the mirror before running out of the house to Mark’s car, making sure to shove the ring box that Youngjae happened to have into his pocket. Forgetting the ring would be a nightmare considering the only reason they’re going out is the free food.

The drive to the restaurant is short. They had made the decision in their group chat to start with a fairly small, cheap restaurant and work their way up to more expensive restaurants as Jaebeom and Jinyoung’s acting skills improve.

To be honest, Jaebeom feels a little stupid walking into the restaurant in his mildly formal clothes. _No one in the right mind would propose here,_ he thinks as he notes all the casually-dressed families with children here. And there’s him.

He spots the others already sitting down at a round table, so he leads Mark and Youngjae, who they had picked up on the way. Jackson starts whistling as soon as he seems him. “Jaebeom-hyung’s looking hot!~”

“I feel overdressed,” Jaebeom mumbles as he slides into a seat next to Jinyoung.

Jinyoung looks… very pretty. As usual. He shouldn’t have expected anything less from him. His clothes and hair are neat and he’s smiling a very amused smile. “Same. I don’t think they get many proposals here.”

Their server does seem a little taken aback but how dressed up their group is, but Jaebeom’s embarrassment has numbed as he thinks about the proposal that will be happening near the end of the meal. It makes him nervous, especially considering everyone in the vicinity will be watching him as he recites the speech that he’s already memorized.

“Chill out, Jaebeom,” Youngjae says, nudging him as they begin eating. “You’re bouncing your knee so much it’s shaking the table.”

“Sorry.”

Yugyeom glances up, eyes wide and teasing. “Are you guys prepared to put on a show?”

“We watched some videos of public proposals on YouTube,” Jinyoung tells him. “I studied the reactions and Jaebeom drafted up a very romantic speech. I think it’ll go well.” His face is the epitome of calm and confidence. But Jaebeom feels his job is easiest- he just has to look touched and emotional and then say “yes.” Of course he’ll be calmer.

Jackson, meanwhile, is very eager and excited. “My heart is shaking thinking about free dessert. You two better do well.”

“Don’t reject him,” Bambam adds with a grin.

Jinyoung rolls his eyes. “There’s a possibility they won’t offer anything at all, or that they’ll only give free shit to me and Jaebeom. _We’re_ the engaged couple, after all.” 

Hearing “we’re the engaged couple” out of Jinyoung’s mouth is a strange feeling to Jaebeom but he doesn’t think about it much. 

“We’re your extended family that is very much invested in your relationship,” Jackson insists. “I want to be on Jaebeom’s side of the family. His cousin that brought you two together and I’ll be really emotional because I started the romance.”

“I want to be Jinyoung’s annoying brother,” Yugyeom volunteers.

“You _are_ my annoying brother,” Jinyoung counters, but the look in his eyes is fond. “But don’t you all start your dramatic crying. _I’m_ not planning on crying in front of all these kids so neither will you.”

“Seeing your best friends get engaged tugs at the heartstrings, Jinyoung,” Mark teases him.

“Oh, shut up. You all are so insufferable.”

Jaebeom’s nervousness peaks near the end of the meal when Jackson nudges him. “You should propose now. We’re basically done eating. This is when couples propose.”

“I’m not ready,” he whines, biting his lip. 

But Jackson practically shoves him out of his chair, in Jinyoung’s direction, and Jaebeom stumbles, managing to land on one knee on the ground. _How smooth._

Jinyoung glances at him and nearly starts laughing, but he does his best in pretending to be shocked. One hand slowly comes up to cover his mouth, probably to hide his smile.

Looking at Jinyoung makes Jaebeom’s thought-processing malfunction. But after a few seconds of grasping at straws, he manages to recall the words he’d meant to say. His concise little love confession, pulled from several other proposals. “Jinyoung, you’re the light of my life, and the security I’ve always hoped to have. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted and I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He notices other people watching them in awe, and Jaebeom sweats a little. “We’ve been together so long and I hope I can have you for the rest of my life.” He pulls out the ring box and opens it, displaying the fake ring that caused all this. “Will you marry me?”

Jinyoung nods eagerly, biting his lip and pretending to be emotionally moved. “Yes, I’ll marry you,” he gets out, and he pulls Jaebeom up into a clumsy hug. 

Jaebeom attempts to ignore the cheering coming from their own table that blends in with cheering from the onlookers. He pulls back, taking Jinyoung’s hand in his and slipping the ring over his ring finger. At first, he wasn’t sure if it would fit, because Jinyoung has very slender, pretty fingers, but the ring fits perfectly. Somehow. And judging by the look on Jinyoung’s face, he’s equally surprised.

He sits back down as a stunned, flustered server comes over to the table to congratulate them. “We’re so honored you chose our establishment for your engagement! We’ll bring your table some desserts on us,” she says, probably repeating words a manager told her in panic because they’ve never hosted a proposal before.

As soon as she’s out of earshot, the other boys are squealing in excitement. Jinyoung glances over at Jaebeom. “Good job, by the way. Your speech was a little monotone but it was pretty convincing otherwise.”

It’s strange to be critiqued on a proposal, but Jaebeom’s hardly fazed at this point. “You too. Even though you started laughing at the beginning.”

“That was Jackson’s fault.” Jinyoung’s gaze switches to Jackson and he kicks him under the table. “You nearly cost us free dessert.”

“I had to get Jaebeom on his knee somehow.” Jackson shrugs, still beaming with the promise of free dessert. 

The server brings back cake a moment later, and Jaebeom (and the others) enjoy it immensely. Sure, there’s a bit of guilt, but otherwise he’s free to savor his free food. 

“Thank you~” Youngjae sings to Jaebeom and Jinyoung, clearly enjoying his cake a bit too much judging by the looks on his face as he eats.

“We definitely have to do this again,” Yugyeom concludes. “I’ll skip dance practice, I don’t even care.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Jaebeom notices Mark looking at Jinyoung’s hand and the ring on his finger, that shines underneath the table’s light. “Damn, it looks good on you! Fits, too… you should be a ring model.”

Jinyoung gives him a look. “I’m not going to college and spending this much money on tuition to be a ring model. Thanks for the suggestion though.” He holds his hand out in front of himself and gazes at the ring, though, his expression unreadable.

“I’ll consider this whole thing a success,” Jaebeom announces at the official end of their meal. They all nod in definite agreement, and that is when Jackson schedules their next outing.

As soon as they’re out of the doors, Jinyoung slides the ring off and places it in Jaebeom’s palm. “I’ll see you next week, Jaebeom,” he says, avoiding his eyes a few moments before he manages to look at him directly. His cheeks are pink from the cold already, too. With those final words, he follows Jackson to the car that they’d arrived in.

Jaebeom finds that a little odd, as normally Jinyoung has something to say about _everything._ He remembers Jinyoung’s long ramblings about exams that he was convinced he failed and he gave Jaebeom a run-down of the most difficult questions. And after every movie, Jinyoung offers his very qualified and professional review of it, to the point where Jaebeom is very well-acquainted with Jinyoung’s taste in movies- he hates rom coms the most.

So Jinyoung leaving from this very eventful night with just a “see you later” is very unusual, but Jaebeom doesn’t look into it too much. He’s probably tired from his busy school week, or something like that.

The group’s next target is an Olive Garden. Jaebeom can smell the fresh bread as soon as he walks in and he feels bread-drunk instantly. It’s a great time.

They’re also awarded with a waiter from hell. Or at least, he gets on _Jaebeom’s_ nerves, because the guy incessantly flirts with Jinyoung. Which completely disrupts the free food plan. Jaebeom simply cannot propose if someone is flirting with his future (fake) fiance.

So the next time the waiter comes around, giving Jinyoung a glass of wine “on the house,” Jaebeom inserts himself into the issue. “Excuse me, but he’s taken,” he says bluntly to the guy, hoping that’ll drive home the point.

He receives a stunned look from Jinyoung, and everyone else at the table gives him a “wtf” look except for Yugyeom who is just eager for drama at this point.

Their waiter kindly backs off, muttering a “sorry” as he walks away looking a little miffed. Jaebeom gets a weird sense of accomplishment from this- he’s recovered their chances at getting free food later.

“Damn, Jaebeom~” Jackson teases, still recovering from the shock of his outburst. “Protective, aren’t we?”

Jaebeom rolls his eyes. “If that guy kept thinking he had a chance with Jinyoung, no one would be getting any free food tonight,” he points out. “Except for Jinyoung, who already got wine.”

As Jinyoung sips his wine, still a little wide-eyed, Bambam whines, “Why couldn’t he have picked _anyone_ else to flirt with? I would’ve accepted free wine.”

Meanwhile Jackson turns to Jaebeom with a serious look on his face. “Look, dude, as lovely as your little jealousy show was, maybe you should try some more PDA with your proposal to make it more believable. We might have to sell it a little harder this time if our waiter’s salty over Jinyoung.”

“What are you implying?” Jaebeom says dryly.

He waves his hands around. “I’m _saying_ you could like, kiss him on the cheek or something after he says yes.”

“Or on the mouth!”

“Shut up, Yugyeom,” Jinyoung says with a glare, before looking back at Jaebeom. “If we need to, I’ll let you kiss me on the cheek, but only that, okay? Just for the sake of the food.”

“That’s the spirit!” Jackson sings. 

Jaebeom feels a body temperature go up as he considers the concept of kissing Jinyoung on the cheek. Within the span of their friendship, they’ve kissed each other in innocent places like the forehead several times, but never in a context like this. Jaebeom doesn’t know why it has to be so different this time, but he’s still undeniably nervous now. 

He’s probably overthinking it, anyway. He takes a deep breath to steady himself. He already proposed once, so he can do it again easily. _I’ve got this,_ he thinks with shaky confidence.

Their dinner progresses without anything eventful with the exception of Bambam blatantly flirting with the waiter in hopes of the free wine Jinyoung got, but he’s unsuccessful and spends the rest of the meal pouting.

This time, Jaebeom doesn’t need to be prompted by Jackson. He gets down on a knee when he has Jinyoung’s attention, and begins his new speech he came up with last night. “Jinyoung, you probably know what I’m going to ask you, since I’m on my knee right now. And I’ve told you over and over again how much I love you, but I’ll do it again. You’re the most beautiful man I’ve ever met and the most loving and I don’t think I can live my life normally without you. And I hope I’ll never have to… Will you marry me?”

Jinyoung’s managed to get a good flustered expression on his face this time. His face is redder, and he’s more speechless as he nods. 

“Is that a yes?” Jaebeom teases, his hands shaking as he holds the ring out.

Jinyoung seems to snap out of his stupor. “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you,” he says, and that’s when the onlookers start cheering again. 

Smiling, Jaebeom stands up, putting the ring on Jinyoung’s finger as he leans closer to him. He hesitates when he realizes how close in proximity they are, but only a second passes until Jaebeom kisses Jinyoung gently on the cheek. 

“Park Jinyoung!” comes a yell from their audience.

Jinyoung glances over his shoulder, startled and still basically in Jaebeom’s arms. His jaw drops open when he and Jaebeom both see who had yelled.

Jinyoung’s mother.

“Mom! What-What are you doing here? You two never come here-”

She comes over and takes her son’s hand as Jinyoung’s father follows behind her, the both of them looking highly emotional. “Ah, this finally happened, huh? I’m so happy… and you know you could’ve just _told_ us you were dating Jaebeom, right? We would have still supported you and we all kind of guessed that was the case, anyways.” Breathlessly, she leans over to hug Jaebeom too. “I’m so happy for you two!”

Jinyoung is absolutely speechless, as is Jaebeom, as neither of them know what to say with everyone watching and the waiter had just arrived and any denial would break their character and endanger the mission.

_The others are enjoying this,_ Jaebeom thinks ruefully as he notices the awed, mischievous stares from those sitting at the table. Mark and Jackson look like they’re watching a drama and it’s at the riveting plot twist.

“Thanks Mom,” Jinyoung finally says, his voice shaking. He looks like he’s trying to gather himself and get over the fact that his parents think they’re engaged. _And have been dating_ , Jaebeom realizes as he remembers his mother’s words. _Why the hell would she think they’re dating? They’re friends and they’ve never been anything else._

And luckily for them, they do in fact receive a dessert sampler which is hard to divide between seven boys but they take what they can get. Jinyoung spends most of dessert time texting his parents, who had gone back to eat at their table after extensively congratulating the “new couple.” Jaebeom glances at Jinyoung’s screen to see a long paragraph, which is probably a desperate explanation of why this is a fake proposal and that he and Jaebeom are not actually getting engaged. 

When the group leaves the restaurant, Jinyoung’s parents are right behind them, looking a little pissed. Jinyoung’s mom has her arms crossed across her chest. “Park Jinyoung, I can’t believe you. _Faking_ a proposal for food.”

“Mom, I know you’re disappointed I’m not getting married, but realistically why would I be engaged if you didn’t even know I was dating?” Jinyoung points out. “You should’ve questioned it when you saw it happening.”

“I’m your mother. Of course I’ll get excited if I see you’re being _proposed_ to.” She lets out a big sigh, gazing at her son fondly. “You’re creative, aren’t you? I’ll give you props for that.” She ruffles Jinyoung’s hair and then glances at the others. “You boys have fun tonight.” She goes around giving each of them a hug, which is a pretty normal occurrence considering they’re fairly close with each other’s parents and Jinyoung’s are affectionate in general.

When she comes to Jaebeom, she gives him a smile. They’ve known each other as long as he’s known Jinyoung, which is _years_. “Goodnight, Jaebeom. Sorry about the craziness.” She laughs a bit nervously, as if she hadn’t just implied that she believed Jaebeom had been dating her son for ages. “I’ll see you soon, yeah?”

“Yeah, of course,” Jaebeom agrees. He sees Jinyoung’s parents just as often as his own, if not more. 

They wave them off to the car, and as soon as they’re gone Jackson’s mouth is already running. “What was _that?_ ” he exclaims, looking directly at Jinyoung for some kind of explanation while Jinyoung looks like he’d rather let the ground swallow him whole.

“My mom says the weirdest shit,” he mutters. “Anyway, I want to get home quickly so I can study for my test tomorrow. It’s a big one and it’s math.”

Everyone nods knowingly as Jackson and Jinyoung start heading to their car. But suddenly, Jinyoung stops and turns to run back to Jaebeom. He slides the ring off his finger and places it in Jaebeom’s palm, smiling sheepishly. “Almost forgot… Goodnight, Jaebeom.”

“Goodnight Jinyoung,” he says, a little curious about Jinyoung’s strange mood but he’s not going to question it. It’s exam season, anyway. 

“Hey Jinyoungieeee,” Jaebeom texts in the middle of his lecture with his phone in his lap. Conversations with Jinyoung are far more interesting than any lecture, but he’s not here for a conversation anyway.

His reply comes about five minutes later. “Hyung aren’t you in class?”

“Yeah and?”

“You should pay attention! Plus I’m in a lab right now and I had to step out to respond to you,” Jinyoung writes back and Jaebeom can’t help but smile. He can tell Jinyoung’s scolding tone even over a text.

“Could’ve ignored me.”

“My phone buzzes whenever you text me regardless of if its muted, you know. What do you want?”

“I want to get lunch with you later. You need a break.”

Jinyoung’s reply is a bit delayed this time, as he seems to be typing and erasing a lot. “Fine. I’ll meet you outside the science building.”

Happy Jinyoung agreed, Jaebeom spends the rest of his lecture smiling at the board, which he shouldn’t, because it’s boring as hell. But his mind is filled with the elation of getting Jinyoung to relax. He’s been so high-strung lately. 

Yesterday he visited his apartment and normally Jaebeom just walks in whenever he wants and Jinyoung doesn’t care. In fact, if he asks to come over, he’ll get a “you have a key, come over when you want.” But Jinyoung had been so startled when Jaebeom walked in this time and nearly spilled his food he was carrying. Jaebeom apologized profusely and it just made Jinyoung even more clumsy, knocking over a stray glass of water on the table, soaking Jackson’s English notes he had left. He then had to listen to Jinyoung giving Jackson a very apologetic phone call. In short, yesterday was a mess.

Later, when Jaebeom pulls up outside the science building, he waves to the very anxious looking Jinyoung who is clutching some of his notebooks to his chest. Jinyoung spots him immediately and hurries over to get in the passenger seat of the car.

Jaebeom gives him a look as Jinyoung throws his notebooks into the back of Jaebeom’s car. “Was class okay?” he asks, noting his red face and frizzy hair. Tell-tale signs that something is off with him.

“My lab partner didn’t show up and I didn’t get a very good grade on the test,” Jinyoung admits with a sigh. He runs his hands through his hair to smooth it out. “But I’m fine.”

As they pull away, Jaebeom says, “Well, try to relax over lunch, okay? I don’t want you getting sick or anything because you’re stressed.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Jinyoung looking at him. Then he glances away without saying anything, for whatever reason. Any other day, Jinyoung would respond with something snarky but apparently, not today. That exam must’ve been hard.

Jaebeom’s selected destination for their lunch is one of the cafes a short distance from campus- he has to be able to drive Jinyoung back in time for his next class.

As they eat their food, Jaebeom continues to notice how jumpy Jinyoung is. He got startled when Jaebeom put his phone on the table a little too suddenly. 

“Are you getting enough sleep?” Jaebeom asks bluntly.

“Not any less than I normally do,” he mumbles, taking a sip from his drink as if that will end the conversation.

Jaebeom raises an eyebrow, chuckling. “I find that hard to believe. But whatever you say.” He picks at his food for a second, deep in thought, before glancing up to look Jinyoung in the eye. “If something’s bothering you, you can talk about it with me, you know?” He doubts Jinyoung’s anxieties are anything beyond educational stress, but it wouldn’t hurt to mention it.

“I know,” Jinyoung affirms.

He thinks about how he might be able to calm Jinyoung’s nerves, make his day a little bit better than the trainwreck it seems to be already. He comes to a logical conclusion- dessert. Dessert would be appreciated by anyone, especially when it’s free. Jaebeom isn’t sure if cafes have a free-proposal-food policy, but it wouldn’t hurt to try. There’s hardly anyone in the cafe right now, anyway. 

So he digs his hand into the pocket of the jacket, where he’s been keeping the ring box so he doesn’t lose it. And he slides out of his seat and onto the floor on one knee beside their table.

Perhaps he should’ve warned Jinyoung, because he chokes on his drink and starts coughing. “Jaebeom-”

He puts his hand on Jinyoung’s to calm him and launches into a proposal speech: he has a few stored in the back of his head by now. He decides one of the shorter ones would be appropriate.

“I wanted to take you to the place where we had our first date to ask you this question, so it can become even more special to us. I want to be able to revisit this cafe with you and be reminded of our love that we share, for years onward… Jinyoung, would you do me the honor of marrying me?” Jaebeom asks, giving Jinyoung a gentle, effortless smile while Jinyoung does an excellent job of looking flustered.

“Yeah,” he says breathlessly. “Yes.”

Jaebeom puts the ring on his finger while the staff look on in panicked shock, whispering to each other. Amused, he gives Jinyoung a tight hug and whispers in his ear, “Hopefully they’ll give us dessert, yeah?”

“Is that why? Even though the idiots aren’t here?” he whispers back, equal parts amused and flustered.

“Yup. You deserve it.” He gives Jinyoung an encouraging smile before sitting back down. It takes Jinyoung a second to sit down, too, and by the time he’s settled back down one of the cafe employees is standing before their table.

“Do either of you have any allergies?” she asks, and after receiving “no” from both of them, she hurries away and returns with pastries and a murmur of, “Congratulations.”

Jinyoung flashes Jaebeom a smile, the first relaxed smile he’s seen on him in a couple days. Jaebeom wishes he could see it more often.

Now that Jaebeom reflects, he realizes that their plan of getting free food has resulted in them eating out more, therefore, spending more money. So really, Jaebeom’s idea had caused them all to be a little more broke in the end, but at least they all get amusement out of free things for fake causes.

Jackson had the brilliant idea to celebrate the end of exam season by going to a fancier restaurant, where they hope to secure more expensive food. Youngjae has repeatedly tried to remind him that they’re spending more than they’re saving, but Jackson is still convinced that it’s good for the morale of the group, citing Jinyoung’s nervous jumpiness as of late.

“Has Jinyoung been acting weird to you?” Jaebeom asks as he adjusts his tie in the mirror. He made sure to have a formal outfit ready to go for today. Jackson had to make reservations, so Jaebeom can only imagine how high-end the place is. He wishes a proposal or two could cover the cost of the meal that’s really going to hurt his bank account.

Mark, who had been ready to go for thirty minutes, is sitting on the edge of Jaebeom’s bed, on his phone. “Now that you mention it, yeah. But I think he’s just not handling his stress that well. He should be fine when he cools down from exams.” He glances up. “Why?”

He sighs. “I don’t know, the past couple days he hasn’t been talking to me as often as he usually does and he hasn’t asked to meet up. Whenever we _do_ see each other, he’s all antsy and jumpy and weird.”

Mark considers the new information for a few seconds. “Hm. Well, has he ever acted like this before?”

“Never.”

“Like I said, it might be exams making him nervous,” Mark says. “You can always talk to him about it though, if it’s really bugging you… Are you ready to go? Jackson wants us to be on time so we should leave soon.”

Jaebeom glances back at the mirror, smoothing out any wrinkles in his suit jacket before turning back to Mark. He bites his lip and poses half-heartedly. “Do I look fine?”

He rolls his eyes. “Yes, you look fine. Why are you acting like you’re meeting royalty or something?”

“I just want to look decent if we’re eating somewhere nice,” Jaebeom says defensively.

“It’s literally just us and Jinyoung. And you’ve known him forever. I’m sure you’ve seen each other in worse condition,” Mark reminds him gently.

It’s true. Jaebeom’s seen him when he’s just woken up, with his messy hair and tired eyes. He’s seen him after he’s finished working out and when he’s gotten out of the shower and is half-naked-

Mark interrupts his thoughts by standing up and placing a hand on his shoulder. “If it makes you feel better, you look very handsome,” he says with amusement. “I’m sure Jinyoung would appreciate it.”

Those last words are clearly a joke but Jaebeom’s mind is still whirling about how he doesn’t (and shouldn’t) care how Jinyoung perceives him because they’ve seen all sides of each other so it’s pointless anyway. _I don’t care if Jinyoung thinks I’m attractive_ , he reminds himself with wavering confidence.

“Okay,” Jaebeom says, grabbing his cell phone from his desk and shoving it in his pocket alongside the ring box. “Let’s go.”

They meet up in the parking lot of the establishment. Mark and Jaebeom pull in next to Jackson’s car, where the rest of them are loitering.

“It’s cold as fuck out here,” Jackson complains.

“You could’ve gone inside and sat down, you know.”

“No, we need to make a grand entrance together,” Jackson says decisively, gesturing to the others. “Our lovely couple, and the rich family members. In the eyes of the staff, that’s who we are tonight.”

“We aren’t a kdrama family,” Yugyeom reminds him. “We are broke college students. They aren’t dating. None of us are related.”

Jaebeom’s gaze travels to the others, who are all in equal states of formal dress. His eyes catch on Jinyoung, who is leaning against Jackson’s car, wearing a suit that perfectly fits his form. Even his hair looks fancy tonight. It makes Jaebeom breathless. He’s always been the prettier of the both of them, in Jaebeom’s opinion, and that hasn’t changed. 

“No, listen. I’ve got it all planned out, for realism purposes. I am Jaebeom’s cousin who introduced him to Jinyoung because I am employed at the same business as Jinyoung’s cousin, Mark-”

“Neither of us are Korean, Jackson,” Mark says bluntly.

“That is beside the point. Anyway, Youngjae is my husband who married me for money-”

“Don’t drag me into this.” Youngjae looks amused, anyway.

“-And Yugyeom is Jinyoung’s little brother who wishes he could inherit all the generational wealth. Bambam is the family friend.”

Bambam pouts in response. “You all have dramatic backstories and I’m just ‘the family friend?’”

“You can be Yugyeom’s on-again-off-again lover.”

“I hate to interrupt your very imaginative storytelling, Jackson, but we should probably go inside before we freeze,” Jaebeom suggests with the strong desire to leave this parking lot. 

The interior of the restaurant is so shiny and fancy that Jaebeom is instantly intimidated and he wonders why Jackson even considered going here. They really cannot realistically afford this. But what’s done is done.

They are sat at a long table with Jackson at the very end of it, which Jaebeom finds fitting. He, Jinyoung and Youngjae are one side of the table, which Jackson feels necessary to their “story.”

“You’re really desperate for free food, aren’t you?” Jaebeom mutters.

Jackson is just glowing as he enjoys his fine dining experience. Jaebeom doesn’t blame him though.

The meal goes fairly smoothly. Their waiter even cracks a joke, asking if they’re a club or something and Jackson does the honor of explaining that they’re two rich families connected through a relationship while everyone else tries not to make eye contact out of embarrassment.

However, an obstacle does come along, as Jaebeom should’ve predicted from the beginning.

“Park Jinyoung?”

Everyone at the table looks up to see a tall man standing near Jinyoung’s chair with a warm, surprised smile on his face. “I haven’t seen you in forever.”

Jaebeom and Jackson know immediately who this is. 

“Doyoung? What are you… what are you doing here?” Jinyoung asks, stunned. 

“Who’s that?” Youngjae whispers to Jackson curiously.

In a hushed tone, he replies, “Jinyoung’s ex-boyfriend. They dated in high school for a year, and everyone loves him, but he ended up dumping Jinyoung over text and made him really upset.”

Jaebeom feels a rather unfamiliar tightening feeling in his chest as he watches the affection with which Doyoung looks at Jinyoung. His lips press tightly together. 

“I’m eating here, like you are,” Doyoung answers in amusement. “You look amazing, you know. The formal look has always been good on you.”

The atmosphere at the table is tangibly tense. Yugyeom and Bambam are watching with a hunger for drama while Youngjae looks mildly concerned. And then there’s Jaebeom.

Jinyoung can’t form any words for a few seconds. “Oh, uh, thank you. You, too. You look really… different. From high school.”

That response clearly boosts Doyoung’s ego because he’s smirking now. “Yeah, I think everyone gets a little hotter when they go to college. You included.” 

Yugyeom whistles quietly and Mark slams a hand over his mouth.

Doyoung gives the table a unimpressed scan. “Are these your friends?” He spots Jackson and Jaebeom straight away. His glare toward Jaebeom is an icy one.

“Yeah, we’re all having a night out. As a reward for finishing exams,” Jinyoung explains. 

He nods. “Ah, I see… I don’t want to intrude for too long then.” He flashes another charismatic smile, then. “Do you think I could get your number? So we can continue this conversation later?” he proposes, sliding Jinyoung a napkin and a pen from his pocket.

Jaebeom stares at his plate, muttering under his breath, “Oh, fuck off.”

Silence. “Jaebeom, what was that?” Doyoung sneers. 

“I said, _fuck off_. Don’t think you can manipulate him into being wrapped around your finger before you just drop him again.” Jaebeom can’t filter the anger out of his voice. He feels Jinyoung’s hand tighten around his wrist in surprise… he didn’t even notice Jinyoung’s hand touch him at first.

“Do you have a problem?” he seethes. He reaches a hand out to place it on Jinyoung’s shoulder, but he swats it away. 

“Jaebeom’s my boyfriend now. I’m taken,” Jinyoung emphasizes. Jaebeom applauds him for quick-thinking, and creating this story to get Doyoung to leave.

Doyoung’s expression shifts to a more resigned one. “For how long?”

To their luck, Jackson intervenes. “Seriously, just leave them alone. Jinyoung’s not obligated to forgive you,” he says bluntly. 

Frustrated, Doyoung huffs, turns on his heel, and stalks away. 

Jaebeom studies Jinyoung’s expression. “You okay? I know that guy’s a piece of shit.”

“Yeah, it’s fine… I never thought I’d have to see him again,” Jinyoung says, turning his attention back to his food. “Thank you for sticking up for me. I was a little too surprised that he showed up to have been able to reject him myself.”

“This really is a kdrama,” Yugyeom pipes up. His comment makes them all laugh and dissolves the remaining tension. 

Soon after, Jaebeom goes through with the proposal. This time, he makes his speech hoping that Doyoung is watching. 

Their reward food is cheesecake, this time, which certainly gets the group of them buzzing with excitement. But Jaebeom can hardly calm down from the rush of the proposal… for some reason his palms are sweating and the back of his neck feels hot. Especially when Jinyoung nudges his shoulder to make a joke and his skin feels like it’s burning up. 

He tries to cool off by fanning himself but Mark seems to catch on to his behavior and gives him a few weird looks that Jaebeom doesn’t acknowledge.

The taste of the cheesecake is sweet but it isn’t enough to distract him from reflecting on his reaction to Doyoung. Maybe he’s just easily irritated today. Because he’s never liked Doyoung, not since he broke up with Jinyoung through a _text message_ and Jaebeom had to comfort and reassure Jinyoung through newfound insecurities. So of course he’d be angry that Doyoung reappeared and tried to regain Jinyoung’s trust. 

But he’d never been _that_ upset about him before. This time, it was intense irritation, mixed with something else Jaebeom really can’t identify.

Over the span of three days, Jaebeom has become increasingly agitated, for two reasons. First, because Jinyoung is continuing to act weird around him, and second, because Jaebeom feels like his own mind is like mud and he can’t get a solid thought out.

So when Youngjae asked to come over for help on his homework, Jaebeom couldn’t reject a possible conversation partner. Youngjae’s always been a great listener and problem solver and his presence is always comforting.

They’re reviewing Youngjae’s notes on the couch, with a bowl of popcorn between them, when Jaebeom finds his explanations coming even slower. 

Youngjae frowns. “Seriously, are you okay? You can hardly get a comprehensible _word_ out.”

“Sorry,” he sighs. “I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

Curiosity piqued, he tilts his head. “Oh, really? What about?”

“It’s about Jinyoung,” Mark says as he walks into the room with his backpack. 

Jaebeom looks at him incredulously. “How do you know? Maybe I had a different problem I didn’t tell you about.”

Mark simply rolls his eyes. “Trust me, dude, I know. It’s all you’re ever talking about.”

“What’s wrong with Jinyoung?” Youngjae presses.

“He’s always so nervous around me,” Jaebeom laments. “He can hardly look at me and whenever I’m around he’s constantly dropping things or bumping into things or tripping, and he doesn’t talk as often.”

Youngjae glances at Mark, then back to Jaebeom. “How long has he been like that?”

“Since…” Jaebeom thinks back for a few seconds, “since the dinner at Olive Garden, I think. I thought it was exams giving him anxiety but I don’t think he’s anxious. Just jumpy. Plus exams are over. I don’t know what to think.”

“Have you talked to him about it?”

“I did once. He just said he was stressed. But that was during exams.”

There’s a silence as Youngjae stares at Jaebeom. Then, “Maybe you should talk to him again.”

“My brain’s too overloaded to have a proper conversation with him right now,” Jaebeom protests, slumping back into the couch.

“I’ll send him a text and see,” Mark volunteers. He has a whole different look on his face, but Jaebeom doesn’t waste any energy interpreting it. “I’ve got to leave for class. I’ll be back in an hour.”

“Bye,” Jaebeom says half-heartedly as he leaves.

After, Youngjae raises an eyebrow. “Okay, well, do you want to try studying again or is your brain not cleared out yet?”

“I don’t think I can do it,” he mumbles. “I just, can’t stop thinking. Especially about what happened with Doyoung the other day.”

“Hm, Doyoung? Why?”

Jaebeom shrugs, staring at the ceiling. “My reaction to him was so strong that it threw me off guard, and it’s continuing to bother me. I… I think I was jealous…” He turns to Youngjae, his heart pounding. “I think I’ve got feelings for Jinyoung.”

“J-What?”

“I don’t think I should’ve suggested the proposal idea at all, because now it’s got me convinced I’m in love with Jinyoung,” Jaebeom mutters hotly.

Youngjae recovers from his momentary surprise. “Jaebeom, it’s okay if you like Jinyoung. You’ve been friends for ages, and maybe now that you’ve been doing the fake proposals, you’re letting yourself consider him romantically,” he says as if he’s an expert on this topic. “I do think your reaction was out of jealousy, and also being considerate of Jinyoung and his feelings. You didn’t want Doyoung to hurt him again. But I also think you didn’t want any competition for the role of Jinyoung’s boyfriend.”

Jaebeom groans. “I feel like you had this speech prepared.”

“Honestly, we were all wondering if this was going to happen. Jackson was speculating, after seeing the way you reacted to the waiter in Olive Garden and then to Doyoung the other night,” Youngjae admits. “You two are such a natural couple, whether it be as best friends or romantically. It’s not hard to believe.”

Jaebeom’s heart feels like it’s going to beat out of his chest. He feels like Youngjae’s words aren’t anything new at all, but it’s still nerve-wracking to consider. 

“I guess it was bound to happen, huh? Me falling for him…”

Youngjae places the math books delicately aside and gives Jaebeom a pointed look. “Jaebeom, it is in your best interest to talk this through with Jinyoung. Seeing as you can’t even focus on a couple of math problems, I suggest you call Jinyoung to meet up or something and confess.”

“Confess?!” Jaebeom splutters. “I just had my moment of revelation _seconds_ ago-”

“This was a long time coming,” Youngjae interrupts him with brutal honesty. “In my honest opinion you will suffer more if you wait. I am suffering right now because I have a test to study for and you have decided today in particular is the day to declare your passionate, confused love.”

He stares at the ceiling for a few seconds, trying to get a few deep breaths in to relieve the tension from his chest. How could he, though, when his entire life has flipped upside down? At the same time, there is a warmth in his blood that makes him think that some part of him has known about the feelings all along.

“You’re free to go if you want,” Jaebeom mumbles. “Jackson could probably help you with the homework. He had calculus, too.”

Youngjae stares at him as he contemplates leaving Jaebeom here in this catatonic state. Ultimately, he sighs. “I’ll leave Mark a note to let him know not to prod you with complex questions.” 

He can’t even sit up to watch Youngjae leave, instead, Jaebeom is resigned to the couch, wondering how his life’s decisions have led up to this moment. _It’s the damn ring’s fault!_ Jaebeom decides in a moment up of clarity. _It’s my fault for going out to eat with Jackson and getting drunk and it’s my fault for spawning the idea…_

Perhaps Jaebeom should start thinking things through before jumping into them.

The response he takes to his newfound feelings confuses the people that surround him, namely Mark who is still in the dark about what the hell is even going on with him. Youngjae simply told him that Jaebeom’s predicament will resolve itself and not to give him a hard time.

Jaebeom’s room has been where he lives when he isn’t in class. Other than that, his routine is normal. He isn’t oversleeping or depressed, like Mark seems to think. He just needs an extended amount of time to be in his own head, alone with this thoughts.

Because he has _plenty_ to think about now that he grapples with the concept of having fallen in love with someone that he has known so long. Sometimes his inner monologues are deep and serious, contemplating the consequences of loving Jinyoung, or the probability that Jinyoung might also have some sort of romantic feelings for Jaebeom (which Jaebeom has calculated out to be 53%, that number mostly relying on their compatible zodiac signs and lifelong friendship). Other times, he thinks about his memories of Jinyoung and how beautiful he had been and how stupid Jaebeom was to not have fully acknowledged it. 

Jinyoung on their hikes, Jinyoung in the snow, Jinyoung at the pool. Jaebeom has a nearly infinite list of experiences with Jinyoung and every single one he wishes he could relive, merely to re-appreciate the beauty of him. 

_Or you could go to see him in person and he’d be right there in front of you,_ the small voice in the back of his head reminds him.

_No,_ he counters. The very thought of standing in front of the Park Jinyoung flusters him. He is not ready for that. The next time he sees Jinyoung, he wants to introduce a new, suave, totally dateable version of himself. Maybe, then, Jinyoung would fall for him, too, if he were the picture of romance that he had been those nights Jaebeom had been on one knee with a ring in his hand.

The walls of Jaebeom and Mark’s apartment are thin, as proven when he can audibly hear Jackson’s voice echoing all the way to Jaebeom’s bedroom.

“Seriously, what is up with Jaebeom? He hasn’t been answering anyone’s texts and Jinyoung is starting to get pissed. He’s been moping around the house all dramatic. If I ask him what’s wrong he denies that he is acting any differently,” Jackson describes. “But it’s obvious it’s because Jaebeom has like, gone off the grid.”

“Only Youngjae knows. He swore it isn’t his place to tell anyone, so I guess we should trust him,” Mark answers.

At that, Jackson snorts loudly. “At this rate, Jinyoung should expect communication within the next 3-6 business months.”

Jaebeom leans back in his desk chair. He hadn’t thought that Jinyoung would notice the lack of texts or calls. But Jackson has a useful point. If Jaebeom wants to appear alluring to the man of his dreams, ignoring him is _not_ ideal.

After his morning class the next day, he takes the leap and pulls his phone out as soon as he gets back in his car. He types out a text to Jinyoung and presses send: “What class are you in and what time does it end?”

The initial response is, “Are you pretending to not know my schedule or have you genuinely forgotten?” and then, seconds later, “I’m in sociology. I’m done at noon.”

“See you then,” Jaebeom bravely texts back.

“Jaebeom, what.”

Smiling a very nervous smile, Jaebeom slides his phone back into his pocket. There are only ten minutes left till the end of Jinyoung’s class, so he drives to the liberal arts building to wait in the parking lot. 

At 12:03, Jinyoung steps out of the building, looking very confused as he predictably searches the parking lot for Jaebeom’s car. He navigates through the rush of students exiting the building till he reaches Jaebeom, approaching on the driver’s side and signaling for Jaebeom to roll down his window.

“Why are you here?” Jinyoung asks rather bluntly.

_That totally doesn’t crush the confidence I’ve spent weeks building up._ “I want to get lunch. With you,” Jaebeom responds hopefully.

Jinyoung gives him a long stare. “What if I told you I have plans right now?”

“... Do you?”

A heavy sigh follows. “No.” Reluctantly, Jinyoung walks around the car and gets in the passenger seat. Perhaps he decided he had nothing better to do.

As Jaebeom begins driving, he feels the gravity of the situation barreling down on him. Jinyoung, the love of his life, is sitting next to him in his car. He can’t even bear to look at him, in case he has the cute post-class messy hair he gets in the mornings… 

_You’re a mess_ , Jaebeom tells himself. He keeps his eyes focused determinedly on the road.

“So where have you been?” Jinyoung breaks into his mind with his startlingly icy voice.

Jaebeom stutters for a moment. “What do you mean?”

“ _What do I mean?_ ” he repeats, scandalized. “Jaebeom, you’ve completely ignored me for the past three weeks!”

The car’s engine is the only noise in the vehicle for a few moments. Anxiously, Jaebeom reaches over to turn the radio on before he makes his grand response. “I didn’t know you’d react like this.”

Jinyoung crosses his arms over his chest. “How could you not know? You suddenly stopped talking to any of us. No texts, no phone calls, no video calls, not even a fucking email. You _never_ do that. Not even when you’re upset. I know you’re not busy with school because it’s the start of the semester but even then you would still _let me know_ that you have things to do! I thought you knew me well enough that you’d just fucking call me and tell me that you can’t talk right now! I worry about you, sometimes, have you ever thought about that? And I worry about _us_.”

“I…”

“And suddenly you show up after class wanting to get lunch with me like nothing happened?” Jinyoung exclaims as they pull into Jaebeom’s planned destination. He huffs when he sees the sign. “And to a fucking McDonald’s.”

Jaebeom parks the car with a racing heart. Jinyoung, being a college student, knows the value in McDonalds but perhaps this is bad timing…

Frustrated, Jinyoung gets out of the car. “Let’s just go eat,” he mutters, nearly slamming the door behind him.

_This is all falling apart,_ Jaebeom thinks frantically. He had hoped that Jinyoung would somehow be able to see that all he really wanted was to spend time with Jinyoung. He had never meant harm. He just wanted to be one hundred percent sure that the feelings that overwhelmed him weren’t just some illusion. 

He did all this so he wouldn’t hurt Jinyoung by carrying around these false feelings. _But look what happened, anyway._

Jaebeom, panicking, pushes the door open and nearly trips as he throws himself out of the car. “Jinyoung, wait.”

Before he can cross the parking spaces, he turns around abruptly. Jaebeom is filled with hope as Jinyoung is _listening_ and he can make this all better… 

In a rush of emotion, Jaebeom’s hand dives for the plastic ring in his pocket and his weak knees give out. Positioned on one knee that digs into the rough asphalt of the parking lot, he dares look up at Jinyoung who looks dumbfounded.

“This ring single-handedly dismantled my entire life,” Jaebeom confesses, holding it up. “I drunkenly agreed to proposing to you under the guise of fake emotions, but every time I was faced with very, _very_ real feelings. I’m so dumb, Jinyoung. I holed up in my room thinking about what the chances of a relationship with you were, of how stunningly pretty you are, all like an emotionally constipated teenaged boy. I didn’t have the courage to face you because I know my heart wouldn’t be able to handle you.”

He watches Jinyoung’s face going through a whirlwind of expressions, his lips curved into a stunned “o.” Jaebeom panics when he realizes that there are tears forming in Jinyoung’s eyes.

“I’m honestly so sorry if I ever made you think that I had any feelings for you other than love,” Jaebeom tells him, hoping that his voice can carry that genuineness he needs. All these fake proposals and Jaebeom dare thought that Jinyoung was just a friend to him. How foolish.

Jinyoung’s round eyes blink away the tears. “I hate you, Lim Jaebeom. I really hate you.” He pushes forward into Jaebeom’s arms, breathing like he just ran a marathon. “I was just clingy… you can have your own life, you really can, but… I guess I felt entitled to you. Which I’m not.”

“Every part of me is yours if you want it,” Jaebeom offers lightheartedly, clutching onto Jinyoung’s hug like it might be the last one he ever has.

Jinyoung laughs at the incredulity of the situation. He pulls away from the hug with cheeks dusted a pretty red. “I can’t believe you’re doing this in a McDonald’s parking lot… but you know, if it took the ring and the fake proposals to make you realize you had a crush on me, then I think this is probably appropriate.” His smile brightens. “This is me accepting your confession, by the way. Figured I’d put you out of the misery of wondering.”

It feels unreal, but Jaebeom’s rapidly beating heart reminds him that it is happening. He grins and pulls Jinyoung to his feet, noticing the people gawking at them from the drive thru and from the windows. 

He drives the embarrassment away by sliding the fake ring onto Jinyoung’s finger. “Guess we’ll see about the free nuggets, huh?”

Five minutes later, he and Jinyoung are having a gleeful feast of free chicken nuggets. And, in true college student fashion, wine that Jaebeom had poured into the drink cups in lieu of soft drinks. It feels like a fitting resolution to the conflict which began with alcohol. 

Watching Jinyoung blissfully sip the wine from the straw, his face still red from the parking lot confession, Jaebeom realizes that he is an expert at making poorly planned decisions work out in the end. His gaze travels to the ring, which Jinyoung still wears to keep up the guise of being engaged.

“No more fake proposals, okay?” Jaebeom states out of the blue.

“Why?” Jinyoung asks, amused. “You’d been so eager for free food.”

“Because. You’d get so used to the fake proposals that you won’t know when I propose for real.”

Jinyoung rolls his eyes, although he is simultaneously blushing. “I’ll hope you wouldn’t propose in a McDonalds.”

Jaebeom raises his eyebrow with a stupid grin on his face. “But it is a meaningful location to us now. _The location of our confessions_.”

He takes Jinyoung’s words as a challenge.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this story! I had it written for a while and just got around to finishing it, lol.
> 
> Thank you for reading. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think!!


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